Leviticus 17 Study Notes
General
In 17:11, who is said to have given the blood for atonement on the altar?
Answer: The LORD Himself
In 17:11 the LORD says that He has given the blood to Israel to make atonement on the altar. Atonement was not a human idea or a bargain to win God over; it was God's own gracious provision for sinners. The New Testament speaks the same way of Christ: God presented Christ to be the atoning sacrifice, by His blood (Romans 3:25). True love is seen not in our loving God but in God loving us and sending His Son to be the sacrifice that atones for our sins (1 John 4:10). The price of that redemption was not silver or gold but Christ's precious blood, the blood of a spotless lamb (1 Peter 1:18-19).
- Leviticus 17:11 (BSB)“For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for your souls upon the altar; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.”God says He Himself has given the blood to Israel to make atonement on the altar.
- Romans 3:25 (BSB)“God presented Him as an atoning sacrifice in His blood through faith, in order to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance He had passed over the sins committed beforehand.”Shows God Himself presenting Christ as the atoning sacrifice in His blood.
- 1 John 4:10 (BSB)“And love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins.”Grounds the atoning sacrifice in God's initiating love, not ours.
- 1 Peter 1:18-19 (BSB)“For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or spot.”Says believers are redeemed not with silver or gold but with Christ's precious blood.
Theological
According to 17:11, who is the giver of the blood for atonement upon the altar?
Answer: The LORD
The LORD declares that He has given the blood for atonement upon the altar (17:11). Atonement originates in divine initiative and grace, not in human attempts to appease God. The same pattern governs the new covenant: God Himself presented Christ, whose blood turns away divine wrath (Romans 3:25), and love consists not in our love for God but in His sending His own Son to turn that wrath away from us (1 John 4:10). The ransom paid was not perishable silver or gold but Christ's precious blood, the unblemished lamb (1 Peter 1:18-19).
- Leviticus 17:11 (BSB)“For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for your souls upon the altar; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.”God says He Himself has given the blood to Israel to make atonement on the altar.
- Romans 3:25 (BSB)“God presented Him as an atoning sacrifice in His blood through faith, in order to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance He had passed over the sins committed beforehand.”Shows God Himself presenting Christ as the atoning sacrifice in His blood.
- 1 John 4:10 (BSB)“And love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins.”Grounds the atoning sacrifice in God's initiating love, not ours.
- 1 Peter 1:18-19 (BSB)“For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or spot.”Says believers are redeemed not with silver or gold but with Christ's precious blood.
General
What did a person have to do after eating meat from an animal that died on its own or was mauled by animals (17:15-16)?
Answer: Launder his garments and bathe, staying unclean until evening
Anyone, whether native Israelite or foreigner, who ate from an animal that had died on its own or had been mauled by wild animals was to launder his garments and bathe. He stayed ceremonially unclean until evening, after which he became clean again. Ceremonially unclean means unfit for a time to take part in worship at the tabernacle; it did not in itself mean moral guilt. But if he refused to wash, he would carry his guilt, since he had then neglected God's command (17:15-16). A parallel rule appears in Leviticus 11:39-40, and priests were forbidden such meat altogether (Leviticus 22:8). Hebrews describes these food laws and washings as outward regulations that stood only until Christ brought the new order (Hebrews 9:10).
- Leviticus 17:15-16 (BSB)“And any person, whether native or foreigner, who eats anything found dead or mauled by wild beasts must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean until evening; then he will be clean. But if he does not wash his clothes and bathe himself, then he shall bear his iniquity.””Anyone who eats what died naturally or was mauled must wash and bathe and is unclean until evening; refusing to do so means bearing iniquity.
- Leviticus 11:39-40 (BSB)“If an animal that you may eat dies, anyone who touches the carcass will be unclean until evening. Whoever eats from the carcass must wash his clothes and will be unclean until evening, and anyone who picks up the carcass must wash his clothes and will be unclean until evening.”Gives the same rule that eating from a carcass requires washing clothes and brings uncleanness until evening.
- Leviticus 22:8 (BSB)“He must not eat anything found dead or torn by wild animals, which would make him unclean. I am the LORD.”Forbids the priests to eat anything found dead or torn at all.
- Hebrews 9:10 (BSB)“They consist only in food and drink and special washings—external regulations imposed until the time of reform.”Calls such food laws and washings outward regulations in force until the time of reform.
Theological
What does 17:15-16 require of one who eats from an animal that died naturally or was torn by beasts?
Answer: Laundering his garments and bathing, remaining unclean until evening
The one who eats such meat, whether native or resident foreigner, must launder his garments and bathe, and remains ceremonially unclean until evening, after which he is clean; ritual uncleanness here is not itself moral guilt. Refusal to wash, however, turns the matter into culpable disobedience, and he will carry his guilt (17:15-16). The rule parallels Leviticus 11:39-40, while priests were barred from such meat entirely (Leviticus 22:8). Hebrews classifies these food laws and ablutions as external ordinances imposed until the new covenant order arrived in Christ (Hebrews 9:10).
- Leviticus 17:15-16 (BSB)“And any person, whether native or foreigner, who eats anything found dead or mauled by wild beasts must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean until evening; then he will be clean. But if he does not wash his clothes and bathe himself, then he shall bear his iniquity.””Anyone who eats what died naturally or was mauled must wash and bathe and is unclean until evening; refusing to do so means bearing iniquity.
- Leviticus 11:39-40 (BSB)“If an animal that you may eat dies, anyone who touches the carcass will be unclean until evening. Whoever eats from the carcass must wash his clothes and will be unclean until evening, and anyone who picks up the carcass must wash his clothes and will be unclean until evening.”Gives the same rule that eating from a carcass requires washing clothes and brings uncleanness until evening.
- Leviticus 22:8 (BSB)“He must not eat anything found dead or torn by wild animals, which would make him unclean. I am the LORD.”Forbids the priests to eat anything found dead or torn at all.
- Hebrews 9:10 (BSB)“They consist only in food and drink and special washings—external regulations imposed until the time of reform.”Calls such food laws and washings outward regulations in force until the time of reform.
General
Why were sacrifices now to be handed over to a priest at the tabernacle (17:5-6)?
Answer: So field sacrifices would become the LORD's peace offerings
The Israelites had been sacrificing animals out in the open country. God now required them to hand those animals over to the priest by the Tent entrance as peace offerings, which were fellowship offerings shared between God, the priest, and the worshiper. The priest would splash the blood against the LORD's altar and send up the fat in smoke as an aroma that pleased the LORD (17:5-6). This matches the procedure already given for the peace offering (Leviticus 3:2), and the fat was burned because all the fat belongs to the LORD (Leviticus 3:16). Worship was to be offered where and how God appointed (Deuteronomy 12:5-6).
- Leviticus 17:5-6 (BSB)“For this reason the Israelites will bring to the LORD the sacrifices they have been offering in the open fields. They are to bring them to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and offer them as sacrifices of peace offerings to the LORD. The priest will then splatter the blood on the altar of the LORD at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and burn the fat as a pleasing aroma to the LORD.”Sacrifices once made in the fields are to be brought to the priest as peace offerings, with blood on the altar and fat burned.
- Leviticus 3:2 (BSB)“He is to lay his hand on the head of the offering and slaughter it at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. Then Aaron’s sons the priests shall splatter the blood on all sides of the altar.”Shows the peace offering procedure: blood splattered on the altar at the Tent entrance.
- Leviticus 3:16 (BSB)“Then the priest is to burn the food on the altar as a food offering, a pleasing aroma. All the fat is the LORD’s.”States that all the fat belongs to the LORD, which is why it was burned on the altar.
- Deuteronomy 12:5-6 (BSB)“Instead, you must seek the place the LORD your God will choose from among all your tribes to establish as a dwelling for His Name, and there you must go. To that place you are to bring your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and heave offerings, your vow offerings and freewill offerings, as well as the firstborn of your herds and flocks.”Directs Israel to bring its sacrifices to the place God chooses rather than wherever they please.
Theological
What rationale does 17:5-6 give for centralizing sacrifice at the tabernacle?
Answer: To turn field sacrifices into the LORD's peace offerings
Sacrifices previously made in the open country were to be handed over to the priest by the Tent entrance and offered as peace offerings, with the blood applied to the altar and the fat burned as an aroma pleasing to Him (17:5-6). The regulation brings private slaughter under the peace offering rite of Leviticus 3, in which the blood goes on the altar (Leviticus 3:2) and every portion of fat belongs to the LORD (Leviticus 3:16). Acceptable worship is worship offered at the place God Himself appoints (Deuteronomy 12:5-6).
- Leviticus 17:5-6 (BSB)“For this reason the Israelites will bring to the LORD the sacrifices they have been offering in the open fields. They are to bring them to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and offer them as sacrifices of peace offerings to the LORD. The priest will then splatter the blood on the altar of the LORD at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and burn the fat as a pleasing aroma to the LORD.”Sacrifices once made in the fields are to be brought to the priest as peace offerings, with blood on the altar and fat burned.
- Leviticus 3:2 (BSB)“He is to lay his hand on the head of the offering and slaughter it at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. Then Aaron’s sons the priests shall splatter the blood on all sides of the altar.”Shows the peace offering procedure: blood splattered on the altar at the Tent entrance.
- Leviticus 3:16 (BSB)“Then the priest is to burn the food on the altar as a food offering, a pleasing aroma. All the fat is the LORD’s.”States that all the fat belongs to the LORD, which is why it was burned on the altar.
- Deuteronomy 12:5-6 (BSB)“Instead, you must seek the place the LORD your God will choose from among all your tribes to establish as a dwelling for His Name, and there you must go. To that place you are to bring your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and heave offerings, your vow offerings and freewill offerings, as well as the firstborn of your herds and flocks.”Directs Israel to bring its sacrifices to the place God chooses rather than wherever they please.
General
True or False: According to 17:8-9, the rule that burnt offerings and other sacrifices must be offered at the Tent of Meeting applied only to native Israelites, not to foreigners living among them.
Answer: False
This is false. God said that anyone, whether an Israelite or a resident foreigner, who offered a sacrifice of any kind anywhere but at the Tent entrance was to be cut off (17:8-9). The same law governed both native and foreigner (Numbers 15:15-16; Exodus 12:49). There was one appointed place to meet God, and it was open to the foreigner who lived among Israel as well. The New Testament shows that God's one appointed way of approach is now Jesus Christ; nobody reaches the Father apart from Him (John 14:6).
- Leviticus 17:8-9 (BSB)“Tell them that if anyone from the house of Israel or any foreigner living among them offers a burnt offering or a sacrifice but does not bring it to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting to sacrifice it to the LORD, that man must be cut off from his people.”Both Israelites and resident foreigners who offer sacrifices anywhere but at the Tent entrance are to be cut off.
- Numbers 15:15-16 (BSB)“The assembly is to have the same statute both for you and for the foreign resident; it is a permanent statute for the generations to come. You and the foreigner shall be the same before the LORD. The same law and the same ordinance will apply both to you and to the foreigner residing with you.””States that the same statute applies to the native Israelite and the foreigner living among them.
- Exodus 12:49 (BSB)“The same law shall apply to both the native and the foreigner who resides among you.””Confirms one law for the native and the foreigner.
- John 14:6 (BSB)“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”Jesus declares that He is the way, and no one comes to the Father except through Him.
Theological
True or False: The requirement of 17:8-9 that sacrifices be offered only at the Tent of Meeting bound native Israelites but exempted resident foreigners.
Answer: False
This is false. The statute explicitly includes the resident alien alongside the Israelite: any burnt offering or sacrifice not brought to the Tent entrance incurs the penalty of being cut off (17:8-9). Israel's law applied equally to native and resident foreigner (Numbers 15:15-16; Exodus 12:49). One divinely appointed place of approach stood open to all who dwelt among God's people, a pattern fulfilled in Christ as the sole way to the Father (John 14:6).
- Leviticus 17:8-9 (BSB)“Tell them that if anyone from the house of Israel or any foreigner living among them offers a burnt offering or a sacrifice but does not bring it to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting to sacrifice it to the LORD, that man must be cut off from his people.”Both Israelites and resident foreigners who offer sacrifices anywhere but at the Tent entrance are to be cut off.
- Numbers 15:15-16 (BSB)“The assembly is to have the same statute both for you and for the foreign resident; it is a permanent statute for the generations to come. You and the foreigner shall be the same before the LORD. The same law and the same ordinance will apply both to you and to the foreigner residing with you.””States that the same statute applies to the native Israelite and the foreigner living among them.
- Exodus 12:49 (BSB)“The same law shall apply to both the native and the foreigner who resides among you.””Confirms one law for the native and the foreigner.
- John 14:6 (BSB)“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”Jesus declares that He is the way, and no one comes to the Father except through Him.
General
What did God say He would do to anyone who ate blood (17:10)?
Answer: Turn against that person Himself and remove him from his people
Eating blood was so serious that God said He would Himself turn His face against the one who did it and remove him from his people, whether he was an Israelite or a foreigner (17:10). The command was older than the law given at Sinai: after the flood God forbade Noah's family to eat meat that still had its lifeblood (Genesis 9:4), and Leviticus had already forbidden eating blood (Leviticus 7:26-27). When the early church welcomed Gentile believers, the Jerusalem council asked them to abstain from blood (Acts 15:28-29).
- Leviticus 17:10 (BSB)“If anyone from the house of Israel or a foreigner living among them eats any blood, I will set My face against that person and cut him off from among his people.”God will set His face against anyone, Israelite or foreigner, who eats blood and cut him off.
- Genesis 9:4 (BSB)“But you must not eat meat with its lifeblood still in it.”Shows that the ban on eating meat with its lifeblood goes back to God's word to Noah after the flood.
- Leviticus 7:26-27 (BSB)“You must not eat the blood of any bird or animal in any of your dwellings. If anyone eats blood, that person must be cut off from his people.’””Had already forbidden eating the blood of any bird or animal, on penalty of being cut off.
- Acts 15:28-29 (BSB)“It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond these essential requirements: You must abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. Farewell.”Records the Jerusalem council asking Gentile believers to abstain from blood.
Theological
What sanction does 17:10 attach to the eating of blood?
Answer: God's personal opposition and the offender's removal from his people
The LORD Himself will set His face against the one who eats blood, native or resident foreigner, and excise him from the community (17:10), an unusually personal form of the sanction. The prohibition predates Sinai, being grounded in the Noahic command (Genesis 9:4), and was already legislated in Leviticus 7:26-27. In the apostolic era the Jerusalem council asked Gentile converts to abstain from blood (Acts 15:28-29).
- Leviticus 17:10 (BSB)“If anyone from the house of Israel or a foreigner living among them eats any blood, I will set My face against that person and cut him off from among his people.”God will set His face against anyone, Israelite or foreigner, who eats blood and cut him off.
- Genesis 9:4 (BSB)“But you must not eat meat with its lifeblood still in it.”Shows that the ban on eating meat with its lifeblood goes back to God's word to Noah after the flood.
- Leviticus 7:26-27 (BSB)“You must not eat the blood of any bird or animal in any of your dwellings. If anyone eats blood, that person must be cut off from his people.’””Had already forbidden eating the blood of any bird or animal, on penalty of being cut off.
- Acts 15:28-29 (BSB)“It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond these essential requirements: You must abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. Farewell.”Records the Jerusalem council asking Gentile believers to abstain from blood.
General
What was an Israelite or foreigner to do with the blood of a clean game animal or bird caught while hunting (17:13)?
Answer: Drain it out and bury it under soil
Game that could not be brought to the altar still had to be handled with reverence. The hunter was to drain the blood and bury it under soil, since every creature's life is its blood (17:13-14). Blood was never to be eaten as common food; returning it to the ground acknowledged that life belongs to God. Deuteronomy gives a similar instruction for meat slaughtered away from the sanctuary, telling Israel to pour out the blood onto the ground as one pours water (Deuteronomy 12:23-25; 15:23).
- Leviticus 17:13-14 (BSB)“And if any Israelite or foreigner living among them hunts down a wild animal or bird that may be eaten, he must drain its blood and cover it with dirt. For the life of all flesh is its blood. Therefore I have told the Israelites, ‘You must not eat the blood of any living thing, because the life of all flesh is its blood; whoever eats it must be cut off.’”A hunter must drain the blood of clean game and cover it with dirt, because the life of all flesh is its blood.
- Deuteronomy 12:23-25 (BSB)“Only be sure not to eat the blood, because the blood is the life, and you must not eat the life with the meat. You must not eat the blood; pour it on the ground like water. Do not eat it, so that it may go well with you and your children after you, because you will be doing what is right in the eyes of the LORD.”Repeats that the blood is the life and must be poured on the ground, not eaten.
- Deuteronomy 15:23 (BSB)“But you must not eat the blood; pour it on the ground like water.”Gives the same instruction to pour the blood on the ground like water.
Theological
What does 17:13 require of one who hunts a clean animal or bird?
Answer: Draining the blood and burying it under soil
Even game that never reached the altar fell under the blood prohibition: its blood was to be drained and covered with earth, since every creature's life is its blood (17:13-14). Covering the blood treated the life as belonging to God rather than as common food. Deuteronomy applies the same principle to non-sacrificial slaughter, requiring the blood to be poured onto the ground as one pours water (Deuteronomy 12:23-25; 15:23).
- Leviticus 17:13-14 (BSB)“And if any Israelite or foreigner living among them hunts down a wild animal or bird that may be eaten, he must drain its blood and cover it with dirt. For the life of all flesh is its blood. Therefore I have told the Israelites, ‘You must not eat the blood of any living thing, because the life of all flesh is its blood; whoever eats it must be cut off.’”A hunter must drain the blood of clean game and cover it with dirt, because the life of all flesh is its blood.
- Deuteronomy 12:23-25 (BSB)“Only be sure not to eat the blood, because the blood is the life, and you must not eat the life with the meat. You must not eat the blood; pour it on the ground like water. Do not eat it, so that it may go well with you and your children after you, because you will be doing what is right in the eyes of the LORD.”Repeats that the blood is the life and must be poured on the ground, not eaten.
- Deuteronomy 15:23 (BSB)“But you must not eat the blood; pour it on the ground like water.”Gives the same instruction to pour the blood on the ground like water.
General
What reason does 17:11 give for why blood was not to be eaten?
Answer: A creature's life is in its blood, and God appointed blood for atonement on the altar
God explained that the life of a creature is in its blood, and that He Himself had given blood to Israel for making atonement for their lives on the altar, because the blood, as the life, is what makes atonement (17:11). Atonement here means reconciling sinners to God through a substitute's life poured out in death in their place. Blood was sacred because God had set it apart for this purpose, so it could not be treated as common food. Hebrews states the same principle: no forgiveness comes without shed blood (Hebrews 9:22). That is why Jesus spoke of His covenant blood poured out on behalf of many so that sins would be forgiven (Matthew 26:28), and why believers are redeemed and forgiven by His blood (Ephesians 1:7).
- Leviticus 17:11 (BSB)“For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for your souls upon the altar; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.”The life of the flesh is in the blood, and God has given it on the altar to make atonement.
- Hebrews 9:22 (BSB)“According to the law, in fact, nearly everything must be purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”States that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
- Matthew 26:28 (BSB)“This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”Jesus calls His blood the blood of the covenant poured out for the forgiveness of sins.
- Ephesians 1:7 (BSB)“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace”Says believers have redemption and forgiveness through Christ's blood.
Theological
What rationale does 17:11 provide for the prohibition of eating blood?
Answer: Life resides in the blood, which God has given upon the altar to make atonement
The prohibition rests on the principle that a creature's life resides in its blood and that God has assigned it to the altar as the means of atonement for the life, the blood atoning by virtue of the life (17:11). Atonement is thus vicarious: a life given up in death in the place of the sinner's life. Because blood is consecrated to this purpose it may not be consumed as ordinary food. The New Testament affirms the principle that no forgiveness comes without shed blood (Hebrews 9:22) and locates its fulfillment in Christ's covenant blood poured out on behalf of many so that sins are forgiven (Matthew 26:28), in whom believers have redemption and forgiveness (Ephesians 1:7).
- Leviticus 17:11 (BSB)“For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for your souls upon the altar; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.”The life of the flesh is in the blood, and God has given it on the altar to make atonement.
- Hebrews 9:22 (BSB)“According to the law, in fact, nearly everything must be purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”States that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
- Matthew 26:28 (BSB)“This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”Jesus calls His blood the blood of the covenant poured out for the forgiveness of sins.
- Ephesians 1:7 (BSB)“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace”Says believers have redemption and forgiveness through Christ's blood.
General
According to 17:7, to whom had some Israelites been offering sacrifices?
Answer: Goat demons
God commanded Israel to stop sacrificing to goat demons, false spirits the people had turned to, and He calls this prostituting themselves (17:7). Idolatry is spiritual unfaithfulness, like adultery against the God who had bound Himself to Israel in covenant. Moses later lamented that Israel offered sacrifices to demons instead of God (Deuteronomy 32:17), and centuries later Jeroboam appointed priests for such goat demons (2 Chronicles 11:15). Paul warns that pagan sacrifices go to demons, so believers cannot share both the Lord's table and that of demons (1 Corinthians 10:20-21).
- Leviticus 17:7 (BSB)“They must no longer offer their sacrifices to the goat demons to which they have prostituted themselves. This will be a permanent statute for them for the generations to come.’”Israel must stop offering sacrifices to the goat demons they had prostituted themselves to.
- Deuteronomy 32:17 (BSB)“They sacrificed to demons, not to God, to gods they had not known, to newly arrived gods, which your fathers did not fear.”Laments that Israel sacrificed to demons rather than to God.
- 2 Chronicles 11:15 (BSB)“And Jeroboam appointed his own priests for the high places and for the goat demons and calf idols he had made.”Shows the worship of goat demons resurfacing under Jeroboam.
- 1 Corinthians 10:20-21 (BSB)“No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God. And I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot partake in the table of the Lord and the table of demons too.”Teaches that pagan sacrifices are offered to demons and that believers cannot share both the Lord's table and that of demons.
Theological
To whom, according to 17:7, had Israelites been sacrificing?
Answer: Goat demons
The LORD forbids any further sacrifice to goat demons, to whom Israel had been unfaithful like a prostitute (17:7). Centralized sacrifice thus guarded against idolatry, which Scripture consistently portrays as covenant infidelity. The same apostasy is lamented in Deuteronomy 32:17 and recurs under Jeroboam's priests for such goat demons (2 Chronicles 11:15). Paul identifies pagan sacrifice as offered to demons and forbids believers to partake of both the Lord's table and that of demons (1 Corinthians 10:20-21).
- Leviticus 17:7 (BSB)“They must no longer offer their sacrifices to the goat demons to which they have prostituted themselves. This will be a permanent statute for them for the generations to come.’”Israel must stop offering sacrifices to the goat demons they had prostituted themselves to.
- Deuteronomy 32:17 (BSB)“They sacrificed to demons, not to God, to gods they had not known, to newly arrived gods, which your fathers did not fear.”Laments that Israel sacrificed to demons rather than to God.
- 2 Chronicles 11:15 (BSB)“And Jeroboam appointed his own priests for the high places and for the goat demons and calf idols he had made.”Shows the worship of goat demons resurfacing under Jeroboam.
- 1 Corinthians 10:20-21 (BSB)“No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God. And I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot partake in the table of the Lord and the table of demons too.”Teaches that pagan sacrifices are offered to demons and that believers cannot share both the Lord's table and that of demons.
General
What did God say about an Israelite who slaughtered an ox, lamb, or goat without bringing the animal to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting (17:3-4)?
Answer: He was counted guilty of bloodshed and was to be removed from Israel
God said such a man would incur bloodguilt, meaning he was treated as guilty of wrongly shedding blood, and that he was to be cut off, a severe penalty meaning removal from the covenant community of Israel (17:3-4). The law concerns the animals Israel used in sacrifice (17:5); every such animal was to be brought to the tabernacle and offered to the LORD, because taking an animal's life was not a private matter. Its life belonged to God. As Israel prepared to enter the land, Deuteronomy kept the rule of one God-chosen place for offerings (Deuteronomy 12:13-14) while allowing ordinary meat to be slaughtered at home, as long as the blood was not eaten (Deuteronomy 12:15-16).
- Leviticus 17:3-4 (BSB)“‘Anyone from the house of Israel who slaughters an ox, a lamb, or a goat in the camp or outside of it instead of bringing it to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting to present it as an offering to the LORD before His tabernacle—that man shall incur bloodguilt. He has shed blood and must be cut off from among his people.”An Israelite who slaughters a sacrificial animal anywhere but at the Tent of Meeting incurs bloodguilt and is cut off.
- Deuteronomy 12:13-14 (BSB)“Be careful not to offer your burnt offerings in just any place you see; you must offer them only in the place the LORD will choose in one of your tribal territories, and there you shall do all that I command you.”Keeps the principle of a single God-chosen place for offerings as Israel prepares to enter the land.
- Deuteronomy 12:15-16 (BSB)“But whenever you want, you may slaughter and eat meat within any of your gates, according to the blessing the LORD your God has given you. Both the ceremonially clean and unclean may eat it as they would a gazelle or deer, but you must not eat the blood; pour it on the ground like water.”Later permits ordinary meat to be slaughtered at home, provided the blood is not eaten.
Theological
What verdict does 17:3-4 pronounce on an Israelite who kills an ox, lamb, or goat away from the tabernacle?
Answer: He bears bloodguilt and is to be removed from Israel
Slaughter of a sacrificial animal anywhere but at the entrance of the Tent brings bloodguilt, and the offender is to be cut off, that is, excised from the covenant community (17:3-4). Because life belongs to God, the killing of such animals had to take place in His presence and be offered to Him (17:5). Deuteronomy, addressing Israel on the eve of the conquest, retains the principle of a single chosen place for sacrifice (Deuteronomy 12:13-14) while permitting ordinary, non-sacrificial slaughter for meat at home, provided the blood is not consumed (Deuteronomy 12:15-16).
- Leviticus 17:3-4 (BSB)“‘Anyone from the house of Israel who slaughters an ox, a lamb, or a goat in the camp or outside of it instead of bringing it to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting to present it as an offering to the LORD before His tabernacle—that man shall incur bloodguilt. He has shed blood and must be cut off from among his people.”An Israelite who slaughters a sacrificial animal anywhere but at the Tent of Meeting incurs bloodguilt and is cut off.
- Deuteronomy 12:13-14 (BSB)“Be careful not to offer your burnt offerings in just any place you see; you must offer them only in the place the LORD will choose in one of your tribal territories, and there you shall do all that I command you.”Keeps the principle of a single God-chosen place for offerings as Israel prepares to enter the land.
- Deuteronomy 12:15-16 (BSB)“But whenever you want, you may slaughter and eat meat within any of your gates, according to the blessing the LORD your God has given you. Both the ceremonially clean and unclean may eat it as they would a gazelle or deer, but you must not eat the blood; pour it on the ground like water.”Later permits ordinary meat to be slaughtered at home, provided the blood is not eaten.